- AFL REVIEW: THREE TITLES AND TWO BIG SIGNINGS

by Jeff Cain – MMAWeekly.com
ATLANTA – Nearly 6,000 spectators sat in attendance for the American Fight League’s “Bullet Proof” event at the Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta and witnessed two new champions crowned and one retain his title.

In the main event of the evening, Louisville, Kentucky’s Brent Weedman defeated Douglas Lima by armbar in the closing moments of the second round to obtain the AFL welterweight championship.

Weedman, who nearly secured a triangle choke in the first round against the favored Lima, transitioned from a triangle choke to armbar to finish fight.

Atlanta’s Diego Saraiva retained his AFL lightweight title against Josh Cate, a jiu-jitsu black belt under Hermes Franca, by TKO in round two. Saraiva stalked his opponent throughout the fight, catching Cate with a right hand and eventually finishing him on the ground with strikes.

With World Extreme Cagefighting light heavyweight titleholder Brian Stann in his corner, George Lockhart defeated George Allen by unanimous decision in a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle for the promotion’s middleweight strap.

In other action, Cleveland’s Torrance Taylor bested Junior Assuncao by unanimous decision, avoiding submission attempts and battering him with strikes.

In addition to treating Philips Arena to its first ever MMA event, the AFL also announced two signings on Friday night. Tara LaRosa, widely regarded as the top female fighter in the world, is set to make her AFL debut this fall in an event that will air on pay-per-view. Former WWE pro wrestling star Bobby Lashley will make his mixed martial arts debut on the same AFL pay-per-view card as LaRosa, which is expected to take place some time in October.